Lucky to be There
by UrKid
Summary: The way that they were now, it was only a matter of time when it would become official. No matter how much Keiss tried to fight against it. / LaylexKeiss
1. Exposition

Haha, I didn't really consider any chapter-divisions when I wrote this, but there are clearly... three scenes in this story. So I thought each scene deserved their own chapter. Only, the first scene/chapter is immensely short in comparison to the other two ;D But you'll survive! The next one will be longer!

This is a boyxboy story, don't read if you don't like (or read, but don't tell me that). There are only a few stories here centering these two, so I was bound to come and fill in eventually... Hmm, you know, I've grown rather fond of these two :3

* * *

The sun was setting beyond the rocky grounds of a near-desert. It was fairly silent, the only constant noise being the chirping of male crickets. Every now and then a bird of some kind croaked, hungry and looking for something to eat. Anything probably would have done the job. But instead of finding a dinner on four legs, the bird must have been disappointed to be scared off by two, loud creatures too big to eat and quickly moving forward on wheels. And if that wasn't enough, there suddenly was a huge explosion perhaps only a mere kilometer away, managing to even get the crickets on the run.

One of the motorcycle-like-vehicles made a tight curve, flying sideways and coming to a halt. The driver kicked the leg down and climbed off the thing he had been steering just a second ago, just as the other parked his bike right before him. The second driver didn't make a move, deciding to remain seated exactly where he was. But in turn, the first one took off his helmet, laid it on the bike, and took a few steps in direction of the explosion. A chuckle left his lips as he ruffled his hay-blond hair absently. He turned to look over his shoulder and at the other driver, smiling widely. The crystal on his cheek sparkled lightly.

"Well wasn't that fun."

The driver number two shook his head and also agreed to strip out of his helmet, if only to be able to speak better. Immediately, he began settling his bandana on better, as it was nearly falling off due to the rough way he had lifted off his previous head-cover. He casted a quick glance at the other boy that was half fed up and half amused, but then he just gave up and moved his eyes over to view the puff of dark smoke that was still wafting gently through the otherwise clear layers of air. The blonde strutted closer to the redhead and his bike, positioning his elbows on the latter and lazily leaning back on them.

"Gah, it's really hot."

The redhead grunted and wiped his forehead with his free hand that wasn't holding his helmet. The comment earned him the eyes of the boy still standing, running him up and down. This boy had a smirk on like no other, and, upon realizing this, the other just had to raise one single eyebrow in great puzzlement. The blond didn't need any more encouragement to say what he had in mind.

"I bet, with that body…"

To top it off, Layle whistled, pointedly allowing his gaze to fall upon the lower regions of Keiss's upper body and licking his lips, undoubtedly on purpose. Keiss let out a laugh and he punched the other on the shoulder, forcing Layle to look up. The redhead tilted his head disapprovingly, but eventually he couldn't help grinning and going along with the game. He straightened his posture and stretched his hands over his head, making his back bend in just the kind of seductive angle.

"Yeah, yeah, you'd certainly like a piece of this, now wouldn't you?"

He came down from his posture and winked at Layle, who at least appeared to be completely turned on by the move. His smile grew and he made a loose spinning motion to relocate himself right next to Keiss, still sitting on the motorcycle. With one hand he grabbed the bike's left handle and the other one he laid down on the saddle, behind the redhead on top. Keiss had already turned to his side before, so now they were facing each other and, thanks to Layle, also positioned quite close to each other. Keiss stared at Layle rather blankly, but Layle was still smiling. When he spoke, his voice came out as a delicate whisper, because he didn't need to speak any louder so close to the one he was talking to.

"Hmm, you know, I really would."

With that said, Layle felt like it was now safe to lock their lips together and kiss the other slowly, softly, but with a hungry, nearly starving edge to it. This nearly freaked out Keiss, who had not expected any of that and thus quite quickly decided that it would be best to just push the other boy off. It turned out that on the other hand, that was something that Layle hadn't expected. So while he ended up looking very, very confused by what had happened, Keiss just appeared to be, plain and clear, offended. There was now about a meter of space between them.

"What was that?"

Keiss asked and although he sounded fairly irritated, he could have been angrier as someone who had been surprise molested slash kissed. However, it didn't necessarily mean that Layle actually had a shot: it just meant that Keiss was actually quite understanding when being forced to face his friend's quirks. Layle still hadn't completely processed the fact that he had just been rejected. He scratched the back of his head, eyeing Keiss suspiciously like he doubted it was truly him.

"I kissed you?"

Stupid questions usually aroused stupid answers. Ironically enough, while Layle was going around in his head wondering why Keiss seemed so clueless about everything today and had to ask such needless questions, Keiss was rolling his eyes and thinking that Layle had clearly decided to take the road of a simple-minded today, as he seemed incapable of giving answers that were truly needed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now who the hell gave you the right to do that then?"

Keiss crossed his arms and began tapping his fingers against his arm, looking at Layle like he was a kid that had jus stolen a cookie from the forbidden jar. Layle seemed to relax completely as he realized what all the fuzz was truly about. He stopped carrying himself like he was expecting Keiss or some invisible monster to attack at any moment, and flexed out his fingers, which he didn't remember clenching.

"Uh, you did? I figured out it'd be okay since you like me."

He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. He took a tentative step closer to the redhead, but the redhead in question just raised his left arm, the palm of his hand and fingers pointing up, showing him a sign that clearly said "stop right there, mister". Layle did stop, but he didn't seem to mind being told to do so. Keiss was another case however. He had suddenly adopted an expression that was a mix of confrontment and incredulity. He didn't waste time in further questioning the other boy.

"And what gave you that idea?"

It was beginning to look clear that Keiss's voice had rose up a tiny notch, showing that it was getting increasingly difficult for him to keep his cool and be understanding. After all, it was his pride that was on the line now. Once again, Layle acted nonchalant. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the other, straight into the eyes, unbothered by everything at the moment.

"Well, you did", there was a pregnant pause after that, "What, don't you like me?"

That was enough for Keiss. He felt like he had heard enough.

"Of course, I don't! Why would I!"

Swiftly, he threw his head the other way, highlighting the fact that he was currently refusing to even look at the other. Once again, Layle switched back to the confused-mode: it finally started dawning upon him that Keiss was, for some reason, seriously offended. And that he wasn't going to jump down from his motorcycle and fall into his arms once he had gotten off his girly, "there-must-be-a-reason-for-everything" -phase. Yes, it was all very, very perturbing. He looked up at the sky. The smoke was still further away there, hanging onto the sky like some thick, black foam.

When you looked the other way, it was actually quite beautiful. The sun still hadn't set, although it felt like it had been on the edge of doing so so for at least an hour already. At some point, the crickets had also settled back down. The bird was still missing, but it wasn't like Layle had even noticed that there had been a bird there to begin with. To him, all seemed to be in perfect place. It possibly helped that, from the angle he was watching, the sun seemed to be setting just behind his redheaded beauty. There really was nothing he could have done to prevent a smile from forming. Now if Keiss would just look at him.

"Because you're immensely beautiful."

Without thinking about it at all, Keiss quite automatically rushed to look at Layle, though he realized his mistake only a second after he had done it. He didn't dare to turn back around and Layle was left to wonder if he was blushing from embarrassment, anger or if the sun just made him look that way. Most likely it was a mix of all three. Keiss looked positively upset, but there was no way he could have managed to rain upon Layle's parade, now that he had already granted him the honor of being able to see his face. Layle was in perfect mood as he continued with his reasoning.

"Because you're proud and confident. Because you're smart and witty. Because you're determined about everything you do. And even though you're not extraordinary polite to other people", Keiss narrowed his eyes at that one, but Layle just ignored it, "it seems like you still truly want the best for them. You're an awful lot more trustworthy than one could expect of a Selkie. And also… you don't get there very often, but you I actually kind of like saving from trouble."

Before the end of his speech, Layle's smile had already managed to grow into a grin. The speech did seem to have a positive effect though, as Keiss felt less like his pride had just been trampled all over and, in response, he looked less angry. He was even kind enough to ignore the straight accusation that he was Layle's damsel in distress, if only from time to time. Despite all this, he still wasn't completely satisfied.

"I see, I see. But that doesn't really answer the question. I can now see why you should fall head over heels in love with me, but I still don't know why I should like you."

Keiss was already looking at Layle expectantly, but he didn't have to wait for long. To Layle, the answer to that was rather obvious.

"Because if you don't like me, I'll be very sad."

Not to mention how confused he would become, since his life would become void of a major hobby he had. The hobby being just Keiss in himself, really, he was all Layle truly needed to be amused. But he decidedly left that part untold, who knew how the redhead would react to that. Speaking of, he seemed to be content right now with just staring at Layle with a deadpan expression. Layle put a hand on his hip, shifted his weight and tilted his head, in a manner that said "well?". There was a moment in which neither spoke or moved. Then Keiss cast his eyes downwards, eyeing the helmet in his hands, right before answering.

"Sorry, I'm not really into that."

And just like before taking his helmet off, Keiss shook his head in disbelief before putting the helmet back on. He kicked the motorcycle going and turned to look at the blond. Layle looked surprised for a while, but then he just simply shook it off and smiled at the other. He put his own helmet on and returned to his bike, easily jumping on its saddle and starting the engine. For one last time, he glanced back to see if the redhead was still with him, before turning the bike around and returning it to its earlier track. Unfortunately, he had failed to see Keiss expression through the helmet and so, while he moved forward, Keiss didn't.

No, Keiss chose to stay there, rooted to the spot, looking insulted and biting his lip to stop himself from groaning in annoyance. What was up with that guy? If Keiss was so wonderful, why didn't Layle show a single of bit of sadness toward being turned down by him? He should have looked at least one tiny bit downcast, but no. He was smiling, god damn it, happily even. He continued seething for some time there, before he realized that, if he stayed there any longer than five seconds, he would most definitely lose sight of the object of his thoughts. He growled, twisting the throttle somewhat unwillingly.

"Crystal bearer…"


	2. Action

Whoo, here is the next part :) I would like to say something about it, but I have no idea what. Well... Like always, reviews would be positively received!

* * *

Layle was laughing ridiculously lot when he jumped off the small plane and even when his feet hit the ground and he had to struggle to stay upright. In no time, Keiss was there by his side, holding him up as Layle tried not to choke. His plane's engine was slightly smoking, which was actually why Layle had some trouble breathing right now, and Keiss walked him further away in case the aircraft suddenly decided to explode or something. While Layle was busy with a coughing, Keiss saw it as a cue to start complaining about the faults in their partnership.

"I seriously don't get why you ever even got me as your partner."

Or, more specifically, complaining about their partnership in itself. Layle couldn't really response to that right away and, during the couple of minutes he had to fully dedicate to regaining his composure, he completely forgot what had been said. He did remember that Keiss had said something though, and when he asked him to repeat it, the redhead saw no reason not to. He quoted himself very accurately, even copying the unconcerned annoyance of his voice just perfectly. Layle laughed. Keiss raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, waiting, so Layle concluded he probably wanted to hear an actual answer, if only for the fun of it. And who was he not to give one.

"Honestly?" Keiss nodded, "To lay you."

The crystal bearer had said this with as much severity as he could muster up. Unfortunately, it was all wasted on Keiss. With a roll of his eyes, the redhead smiled amusedly and let a small laugh leave his lips. Layle coughed a little more and covered his mouth with the backside of his hand. Keiss patted him on the back a couple of times, partly out of sympathy, partly because he just automatically got the picture that it would somehow help Layle to get whatever was in his throat out. It didn't help, it had no effect at all actually, but Layle appreciated the sympathy.

"Hah, of course you did. But I mean seriously."

Keiss pulled his hand back, but still kept a steady eye on the blond. Who knew, maybe he would even faint. Layle was the least concerned about that though.

"I was serious."

_- Flashback -_

_Layle looked around the pub, searching for a mop of red hair. He clearly wasn't very lucky today, as it seemed like even if the Selkie was right in front of him, he wouldn't be seeing him in the dim lights and among the great masses of people. He had been there earlier, just a few hours ago, but it hadn't been nearly as crowded as it was now. And he could have sworn there had previously been more normal, yellowish lights on. Because it wasn't that there weren't many lights on now, oh no: he was seriously afraid he was going to develop epilepsy from all the bright colors lashing out at his eyes._

_He walked a bit closer to the door that led outside. It was evening, but there was still a fair load of light coming in through the open door, as it was summer in the town. And summer there meant very long days, very short nights. The colorful lights faded into the sunlight there and the mob also seemed to grow thinner: undoubtedly, there was causality there. He spotted a nice-looking girl sitting by herself on a stool beside the bar. She had dark hair and she was dressed in a wavy, past-knee length skirt. She appeared to be somewhat bored. Layle quickly decided that she looked pleasant and unthreatening enough to be approachable._

"_Excuse me miss, but can I ask you a question?" she turned around and Layle offered her a kind smile, "Have you seen a male Selkie around here with long, red hair and a kerchief on top of his head? At least I'm hoping he wears one, otherwise it'll be a drag to try to find him…"_

_The girl's eyes widened in surprise, as she probably hadn't been expecting a complete stranger to suddenly come and talk to her, but she seemed to get the hang of what was happening quicker than Layle had expected from the looks of her. She looked thoughtful for a while, actually trying to remember, but then she smiled in the ominous, apologetic manner that told Layle he wouldn't be getting any help from her before she had even managed to utter one single word. He let out a defeated sigh while she spoke._

"_I'm sorry: I can't remember seeing anyone that would fit your description. Though there are quite a lot of people here… Was there a specific time or place you were supposed to meet?"_

_Layle figured that since his aimless wanders around the pub hadn't helped his current mission at all so far, he might have as well sat down and waited for the redhead to come to him. Added to that, the girl had turned toward the bar stool next to her, not toward Layle, so he guessed that the girl also would have liked it if he took a seat and kept her some company. Just as he was about to sit down and explain the girl his life story, of the past three hours at max, the girl's eyes seemed to fixate upon something past his shoulder. Out of curiosity, he turned to look in the same direction, soon only half listening to what she had to say._

"_Is that him?"_

_Indeed, a redheaded Selkie with a bandana had apparently just a second ago entered the pub. He was already heading somewhere, carrying his very much slender figure forward so easily and so determinately, he must have either been very familiar with the place or just generally very confident in what he was doing. The sunlight hit his back rather fiercely, enough so that his long hair that stuck out from under the blue cloth and continued to spread all over his shoulders, looked like it was on fire. His brows were slightly furrowed and it seemed like the accusing expression must have been on his face since the day he had been born. All in all, Layle thought it looked like the soul of a lion had gotten caught in the body of a delicate kitten._

_The boy was quite small and oh so very pretty and yet he looked like he would have at least tried to eat the next person that tried to approach him. Layle decided that he was going to be that person and wasn't even scared enough for it to be worth mentioning. Quite the opposite: he felt excitement toward seeing what was going to come out of it. He took a couple of steps to his left so he would most certainly cut the redhead's path, unless he was planning to make some odd curve in the few meters he had left to walk before he would bump into Layle. In turned out, he didn't, so he just ended up stopping in front of the teensy bit taller, blond boy and looking at him expectantly. Looking up at him, Layle delightfully noted._

"_So, you going to be my next partner?"_

_Going straight into business was hardly ever a bad idea, unlike starting the discussion with something informal sometimes had proven out to be. And that truly didn't need any more explaining. Not to mention how Layle didn't really see any real reason to start tiptoeing around the subject. At first glance, he would have guessed that the Selkie was of the more forward type. The redhead blinked and a mischievous smile slowly crept up upon his face. At this point, it looked like Layle had definitely been right about it going to be something worthwhile. How exactly, he wasn't sure yet._

"_Is that how you pick up girls too?"_

_Layle laughed and the redhead's smile just grew. Layle smoothly pushed his both hands into the pockets of his jacket, tilted his head lazily to the side and threw the next question in the air rather self-confidently._

"_Did it work?"_

_To add the effect, he quite suggestively wiggled his eyebrows. It was probably a difficult job for the smaller boy to keep a straight face on in that situation, not to begin with trying to look like he was seriously mulling over the suggestion, but he was doing a pretty good job at it anyway. He let out a humming voice and stroked his chin a couple of times, his right hand holding the elbow of his stroking hand up. Eventually, he allowed the amused slash sneaky smile take over once again. He laid down his arms and took off. Just as he was passing the blond, he gave him his answer, as vague as it might have been._

"_Maybe."_

_To Layle however, the tone of the voice said it all and he grinned stupidly. For a few seconds, it didn't occur to him that the other one was getting away from him. When it did though, he immediately realized that that shouldn't happen. He spun around hastily, just in time to find the redhead stopping in his merry way. There was a pause and then the redhead looked over his shoulder at him. He seemed to be thinking about something very deeply, his eyes somewhat absent and tongue passing over his supposedly dry lips._

"_I'm going to go meet someone now. If you stay there, I'll be right back", then the redhead's gaze focused, and the puzzled expression was wiped away from a smile's way, this time purely amused, "Oh, and I'm Keiss by the way."_

_Then he turned back on his heels and made his way further into the pub. Layle's eyes stalked him greedily, even as he began moving again and had to stagger slightly to find his way back to the bar without looking where he was going. The girl was still sitting there and she had watched the whole exchange of the soon-to-be-partners very carefully. Now he was eyeing Layle with high interest, waiting for him to notice her again. When he finally did, she saw no trouble in expressing her opinion._

"_He's quite a looker, that redhead."_

_Layle switched back from looking at the girl to staring at the redhead in question, Keiss, who was now talking with two tough looking guys at a small round table. Looking at him for a short moment, then moving back to the dark, dark brown he now noticed, haired girl._

"_I call dibs on him."_

_The girl snickered at that and Layle just ignored it, his eyes fixed on what was now going on at the round table. Some other girl with long, blond and what appeared to be rather fluffy curls had suddenly jumped out of nowhere and made her way into the conversation. She clearly saw no problem with getting a little physical with Keiss, which meant caressing his shoulder a little bit and holding her hand on top of his. It was hard to tell how Keiss was reacting, because his back was facing them, but at least he wasn't shaking the girl off or anything and she looked rather pleased. Layle frowned in thought, but was soon ripped off from whatever he was planning to think about when the girl that he was with right now, elbowed him in his side._

"_If you get him to turn around and look at you, from there to here, with a smile, in ten seconds, I declare him yours for… for, I don't know, for all eternity."_

_She made a huge circle in the air with her hand that ended up on her chest, as if she was making an oath. Then she chuckled a little at herself and her melodrama. It was a simple, nothing-out-of-the-usual dare the girl presented him. Something one could, would and should always throw in the ring when noticing that their companion had seen someone they found attractive. And so, Layle didn't think twice about accepting the dare. He turned around toward the redhead, pushed his index finger and his thumb halfway into his mouth and blew. By doing this he produced a high whistle that not only caught the attention of Keiss, but also of many others. However, only Keiss mattered._

_And since Keiss did turn around and he was looking at the right person too, now all he needed to do was to get him to smile. It was more easily done than he had thought it would be, and it was completely unplanned, but he simply succeeded by unconsciously starting to smile at the exact moment when Keiss's eyes met his. The redhead looked confused for a second, at most, before he started smiling back. They stared at each other for quite some time, before the blondie beside Keiss decided to interrupt it by pulling his arm toward her. Keiss turned back to his table, but he couldn't help casting a quick glance at Layle not even a half a minute afterward. Layle grinned widely. The brunette clapped her hands and laughed._

"_That was in five seconds. Do I get two eternities then?" this made the girl laugh even more, she might have been getting a little tipsy, "One day, I'm going to make that boy mine…"_

_Layle looked positively dreamy while making that declaration and the girl was just setting free her last, small giggles, before shaking her head in disbelief. And that was not to say that she didn't believe Layle was going to reach his high goal, no, quite the contrary._

"_You know what?" she smiled at Layle so the smile reached her eyes, "I'm sure you will."_

_- End of Flashback -_

Layle bobbed his head up and down for several times, in all his graveness, to add more weight upon his words. Keiss cast him a skeptical look, that was half a smile and half a scowl, before deciding it was better to just leave it at that and not question it any further. Instead, he chose to focus on what the problem originally had been about, which wasn't really why Layle had wanted Keiss to be his partner.

"Right, okay. Whatever you say. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how bad a team player you are", Keiss rubbed his forehead like it was in pain, "Why would you want any partner, no matter how hot? Huh..? You always seem to be going at things on your own, never telling me what your plans are or what my part is in them. Quite frankly, it seems like I'm not even in your plans!"

_- Flashbacks -_

"_Layle, wait for me!"_

"_If you're planning to go there, I swear, I'm going to… Oh, there you went. Nice. … Come back here, you asshole!"_

"_Answer me, Layle! Are you there? Layle? Layle! Layle, where are you? Layle! Answer me, God damn it!"_

"… _Did he just disappear into a puff of red smoke…? Wait, where exactly am I? … Stupid crystal bearer, first getting us lost and then going away all by himself…"_

"_Yeah, that's right, control gravity. How am I supposed to get there, huh! I'm not a freaking kangaroo!"_

"_Layle! Don't leave me here!"_

"_I hate you so much right now for doing that."_

"… _He just… Me… What… I quit. I'm going to go get myself tea. Hope he comes back with only one leg…"_

_- End of Flashbacks -_

At some point during the rant, Keiss had also decided to add his arms into the presentation, waving them up and down in those general paths that are used to express frustration. He had also begun to walk a circle, though this was hardly a conscious choice. Keiss was frustrated, Layle knew this and this wasn't the first time they were having a conversation about that particular subject. It just had yet to lead to anything. Setting his hands on his hips and forming an incredulous smile upon his face, Layle sighed and shook his head.

"Oh, Keiss. You've known me for so long, you should already know that I never actually plan anything", Keiss rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering something incomprehensible about moronic crystal bearers, "Besides, I know that you're good enough with what you do, you're usually able to follow without saying."

Keiss stopped and turned to look at him angrily. He stomped over to Layle, who took a step back, worried that the Selkie might attack him or something akin to that.

"Yeah, just like now? Layle, you could have gotten in bigger problems up there!"

He pointed at the small aircraft that had, at some point during their argument, set in flames all by itself. Even Layle couldn't have denied that he didn't have a point there: the burning, winged machine said it all. The blond smiled innocently and shrugged at it. This didn't stop Keiss from glaring at him however, so he figured he had to do more than that to appease the other. He closed the distance between them, Keiss too busy being pissed off to notice his personal space being rudely invaded, and gently wiped some red hair off the other's face. Even when the stray locks had been handled with, he couldn't help touching the male's cheek a little bit more, all very tenderly and even more fondly, making the Selkie's thoughts to jumble.

"But… If there was a chance like that, that I could get into bigger trouble, wouldn't you go out of your way to save me?"

_- Flashbacks -_

"_Layle! Don't leave me here!"_

_Layle turned around and looked at Keiss, who desperately tried to climb up the canyon that they had both been pushed into. Currently, Keiss was balancing on the smallest ledge ever, his body glued to the rocky wall in front of him. He barely had room to stand there and the next usable ledge was right out of his reach. Layle was standing on another ledge, but the ledge was about ten times bigger, which still wasn't very much, and he was five meters higher. And he could control gravity, which was also small plus. He gazed up at the edge of the canyon. He could hear the bandits laughing and starting their engines. He had no second to waste, if they left before Layle reached the top there was no way he would be able to stop them._

_He moved his eyes back to Keiss. Despite everything, the ledge under him seemed pretty stable. It would endure his weight for quite some time still. Keiss probably knew it himself too, but reason didn't always walk hand in hand with feelings. He was constantly glancing down, fear evident in his eyes. Layle didn't need to think twice about his options, though it wasn't like he actually even had any. By using his crystal bearer powers, he pulled Keiss into his arms. Keiss looked away, but agreed to wrap his hands around the other's neck and keep himself rather close. Layle smiled cheekily and moved them both to the next level. They continued like this until their feet touched the green grass of the outside world. The bandits were long gone._

"_Thanks."_

_In truth, there was nothing to thank for. Even if Keiss hadn't specifically asked Layle to save him, even if he had told him not to, there was no way the blond would have ever risked Keiss's life for any amount of gil or fame._

_- Flashbacks -_

_A door clicked shut. There was some shuffling by the closet by the door to outside and Keiss got up from his seat to welcome the newcomer. He wasn't surprised to find Layle struggling to get his shoes off. Before he managed to begin to investigate him and where he had been, he discovered a suspicious blue lump in the other's hands._

"_Is that... Is that my bandana?" Keiss squinted his eyes and looked at the male in front of him for assurance, which he got, "But how? Where did you get it?"_

_He walked closer to inspect the cloth. Yes, it was definitely his. But how wet it was. He hastily stole it away from Layle and poked it in the side, water squeezing out. He raised his eyebrows and turned back toward Layle. Now that he thought about it, while was busy Layle straightening his back and leveling his gaze, even the Clavat seemed to be quite wet. Water was dripping all over the carpet. Layle sneezed._

"_I got it back for you."_

_Then he coughed and lifted his hand up to cover his mouth. That's when Keiss noticed a far more pressing issue than being wet. His eyes widened slightly._

"_Oh, God, you're hurt. How on Earth did that happen!"_

_Layle concluded that it was a rhetorical question, because the next moment Keiss had already run further into the room. He followed him in and, with much trouble, succeeded to pull his shirt off while walking. Then he moved on to his trousers and undergarments. By the time Keiss had returned from the bag he had been going through, Layle had already dressed halfway. Only a shirt and maybe some sort of a jacket was now missing, but he didn't have the time to search for them because Keiss dragged him over to one of the single beds before he could. The latter sat the former down._

"_Now tell me what happened. Last time I checked, you used my bandana to hail an aircraft to save us from the desert and a large crow came and took it away."_

_The blond chuckled and coughed while Keiss prepared bandage, alcohol and emergency toilet paper ready for use. He took Layle's arm into his hands and looked at the deep, red wounds he had there. It looked like something big with sharp nails had scratched him. Probably the huge-ass crow, Keiss figured. He tore a piece of paper from the roll and spilled some alcohol on it._

"_Like I said, I went to get it back for you. And it wasn't a crow, it was like a… hawk or something", Layle flinched when Keiss gently pressed the paper on the highest wound, "I saw what it looked like and I knew from beforehand that they make their nests on top of the mountains in the middle of the forest right next to the desert."_

_For a moment he studied what Keiss was actually doing. It didn't seem very pretty to him and it felt even more painful when he saw what was happening, so he decidedly looked away. After that one small pause, he figured out that it would probably be best if he kept talking, just to be able to better ignore the pain. He coughed again before continuing._

"_I looked for that bird the whole day. I had to go through an immensely thick forest and climb that stupid, flimsy mountain. Or mountain range. Whatever. And that wasn't even the most painful part. No, with my powers I could handle those parts with ease, pretty much just going straight through everything."_

_Keiss had been quiet so far, though he had been listening. He didn't think Layle actually needed any response to encourage him to go on, but he now hummed to show his interest anyway. Just in case. He had now cleaned over half of the cuts. He was trying to do it as slow and soft as possible, but he knew that the alcohol would sting at any rate, so he had to be a little rough. Layle was taking it fairly well, although he had a pained expression on that Keiss wasn't sure if the Clavat himself was even aware of. He seemed so focused on the story, what not without having to sniff every now and then._

"_So, you see, I climbed on top of this mountain and after many failed attempts, I finally found the right crow. Uh, I mean hawk. See, you confused me. But anyway, I pulled the bird over by using the crystal's power, because I couldn't just pull the kerchief over or it would have ripped apart. The birdie had quite the grip on it. I think it really liked it. Must be the blue color."_

_Maybe a little too hastily finishing the clean-up, Keiss switched over to wrapping the white bandage over the bruises. Layle almost wanted to say that he didn't need it, they were just scratches after all, but he knew that if he told him that, Keiss would most likely just opt to cover his arm with band-aids. And that really wasn't worth fighting for. Well, the bandage would definitely prevent any infection that might cause his arm to fall off._

"_Now this part's interesting: when I'm pulling the bird, it has basically frozen in place. It was like it was tired of life and brooding, bored or just plain dead. It turned out, that's what the bird was doing. Playing dead. It thought I thought it was dead, so when I got it into my arms and grabbed its leg to make sure it didn't get away, it immediately went on this rampage. It was crazy."_

_At this point Keiss had to stop in favor of looking at Layle in wonder. Only now he started to realize how much trouble Layle had gone through trying to retrieve the bandana. It was true that it had been his fault that the cloth had been lost in the first place, but still. That was already too much. And now Layle was sick and wounded before him. Keiss felt guilty. He was ashamed that someone would have to go through that for him. His head dropped even lower as he quickly spun the bandage around Layle's hand over again. It was done a lot quicker than the cleaning._

"_Before I have the time to think about what's happening, my reflexes are already telling me to shield my face somehow, and I do this by raising my arm to cover it. Thus, these wounds. The next thing I do is let go of the beast, releasing both my grasp and my magic."_

_Keiss finished up. He picked the alcohol and the toilet paper up from the floor and carried both back to his bag. Layle's eyes followed him through the room, though he was still talking like nothing or no one was stealing half of his attention._

"_So the beast is quickly flying away and I think "no, I can't lose it now!" and even more quickly I get it back into my magic field. Then I notice it no longer has the kerchief. I realize right away that it must have fallen when I first released the bird. I look down, but see no sight of it. You know, wet pieces of fabric are really heavy. I was really high at that time but the kerchief fell fast."_

_The redhead made his way back to his side while he still talked. He beckoned Layle to get up and when he did, Keiss was able to throw the covers aside. He then pushed Layle back on the bed and began maneuvering him into supine position. Not like Layle actually fought against it, he just didn't seem to realize that he was supposed to do something._

"_I climb back down on ground level and luckily find your kerchief from the foliage above. Then I rush here. The end. Wait, am I going to sleep now?"_

_Amazingly, the mission had been a success: Layle was now lying down on his side, the uninjured hand under him. Keiss threw the covers on him to complete the image. He smiled proudly._

"_Yes, you are."_

_Layle frowned, but then he coughed, sniffed, nearly sneezed and came to the conclusion that maybe sleep would be good. He was feeling rather cold, an occasional shiver going up his spine, and he clutched to the blanket upon him harder. The lights went out: Keiss had probably stalked off to flick the switch. Layle sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired too. His eyelids felt heavy now and all the day's running was pressing down on him. He heard Keiss moving around, possibly changing his clothes. Layle waited for him to go to his own bed._

_He absently wondered what he had done that day and if there was something there that needed special attention. He tried to come up with reasons to why hawks would like the color blue. He was very distracted at the time when he felt a dip on his mattress and his cover being lifted from the other side. It didn't take him long to detect that there was someone else in his bed now, but before he was able to react to this new information, hands were already wrapping around his torso. There was a deep silence. Keiss had wrapped himself around Layle. They were basically face to face, though Keiss had hidden his head into Layle's chest._

"_Are you uncomfortable like this?"_

_Was he "uncomfortable"? The word rang in Layle's head rather oddly. Well, he wasn't. Keiss was very, very warm, his skin was quite smooth and his body was firm to be pressed against. But the main point still was that he was warm and Layle was having cold chills. Not to mention, he rarely raised any objections when the redhead thought it was a good idea to glue his body flush to Layle's. It made him uncomfortable in a way that Layle didn't think was asked._

"_Umm, no, definitely not. It's nice that you're so warm, actually... But… aren't you going to get sick like that?"_

_Layle felt Keiss's head moving sideways against his chest. He took that as a "no". He shuddered and tried to inch closer to Keiss. The other male understood what was happening and met with the snuggle-attempt, making it easier for Layle to settle himself. He breathed out his next words fondly, tightening his hold to keep the cold away from the bed-ridden._

"_It's the best I can do to get you healthy."_

_His breath evened out and it calmed Layle down. Soon they were both fast asleep, Layle earlier than Keiss. The next day Layle was feeling a lot better already. Keiss caught the common cold and cough, like he was bound to as it was that season, but he remained safe from any fever. The kerchief was dried and it had survived the adventure surprisingly well._

_- Flashbacks -_

_There was a time bomb. Built into the factory's machinery._

"_Why would anyone do something like that!"_

_Keiss yelled, sounding panicky. Needless to say, the bomb was currently ticking. _

"_I think it's to destroy the evidence."_

_There were five minutes left. Five minutes were more than enough to get out of the place. Layle nodded to himself and turned on his heels, making a move toward the exit. It suddenly occurred to him that Keiss wasn't moving._

"_What is it?"_

_Keiss smiled sadly. His eyes were glossy and his hand was fumbling with something. Layle's eyes widened when he realized what it was. He rushed to the Selkie's side._

"_Can't you get it off?"_

_The Selkie in question shook his head in anguish. Layle kneeled down and tried to pull the chain apart by using his powers, but it was no use. He looked further and came to notice that the two shackles that were wrapped around Keiss's legs both went behind the large machine. Upon trying to pull them out, Layle soon realized that there was actually just one chain that went around the machine and came out of two ends. He did try, but there was no way he was able to pull the chain out through the machine's heavy figure._

"_Damn it!"_

_Now for some reason, he started to understand Keiss's panic when discovering the bomb. Adrenalin was soon running, full force, in his veins. Layle's pupils widened considerably and he could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to pull the chain apart harder, but he there was no visible change to it. He tried harder and harder, tried to concentrate his all on what he was doing, but even to his powers, there was a limit. He was quickly getting rather desperate._

"_What is wrong with this cursed thing!"_

_He would never forget what that panic felt like, when he realized he was not going to be able to get the chain off of his redheaded beauty. It was one huge mess inside his brain, but he could never forget. It was as if he had suddenly been hit with something impossibly heavy and he lost his ability to see, speak and even think. Then out of nowhere, he felt arms wrap around his torso and something warm press against his chest. _

"_It's okay. I'll be alright", someone whispered into his ear, "Go."_

_Keiss was crying when he kissed Layle. Tears were flowing heavily down his cheeks, while one pair of lips met another. Layle's eyes were wide open. His hands were levitating in the air in battle positions, but the blue light the crystal bearer's hands emitted slowly faded away. The kiss ended as abruptly as it had started: Keiss pushed the other away roughly._

"_Go! Save yourself! There's not much time! Go right now!"_

_But Layle didn't react. He just kept staring at the redhead. The clock was ticking._

"_Layle, please, just go!"_

_No reaction._

"_Layle! The bomb will go off any minute now!"_

_Keiss had never had to yell as much to get someone to move._

"_Please! Just go!"_

_Later he would think about how silly it was for him to be so scared for someone else that much, when he himself was in a situation far worse. But at that moment, he was simply just scared._

"_Go!"_

_And then, by some miracle of God, Layle did move. However, it was difficult to explain how devastated Keiss was when he realized that even though Layle was now moving, he wasn't moving away. No, it seemed like the possibility of running away hadn't even occurred to him. He changed direction toward the bomb and the huge machine that it had been fused together with. Once again, a blue light was lit._

"_What are you doing!"_

_If Layle moving had been a miracle of the God, then there really was no way of explaining the way he was able to tear the machine apart from the factory's walls and floor, the immensely large machine probably closer to a hundred times Layle's weight, and actually push it through the wall on the other side of the room. Really, through the wall. Keiss's surprise was immeasurable, as he listened to the eardrums-killing bang that followed and watched through the hole how bright lights went on. He blinked._

"_I can't believe you just did that…"_

_When he turned around, he found the Clavat fainting. Keiss was quickly alarmed. He ran over to the blond and kneeled down beside him. Only after he was completely sure that the other still had pulse, he lifted him on his shoulders and started carrying him away. Interestingly enough, later on Layle didn't remember anything about what had happened: he only remembered the panic and even of that he never spoke about._

_- End of Flashbacks -_

"I know I would, for you."

His voice was low, soft and very silky, meant to caress the boy in front of him just as much as his fingers did his cheek. Keiss was afraid to notice how hard his heart was suddenly beating. It was hard to think straight when there were so many things distracting him: his own heartbeat, Layle's voice, his touch, his face, his smile, his serene blue eyes, his warm breath threateningly close to his lips, wait, when did he get so close? Keiss abruptly closed his wide eyes tight, leaving out a big part of what made it all so sensational to him. Now if he could just stop feeling the other. Now if he could just forget the facial features of the one whose rhythm of breath he currently had a lot of trouble ignoring.

Suddenly, he was very much afraid that if he opened his mouth, in plans of actually responding to the question that had been given to him, instead of an answer he would let out a probably quite strangled moan. He bit his lip and scowled. This was not fair. He chose to nod, more fervently than he needed to. Layle laughed, quietly, and Keiss could hear shifting of fabric, indicating that Layle had most likely made some kind of movement. Well, Keiss himself had recently become pretty motionless, so it wasn't him. For what seemed like a long moment, nothing happened. Then Keiss felt something warmer and something even softer than before, on his cheek. It took him a while to realize that he had just been kissed.

"Good."

That was all he said before he was gone. The redhead could literally feel him moving away, but still refused to move himself. When Keiss dared to open his eyes, he found the molester, how he now decided to call his beloved Clavat partner, almost ten meters away from him and waving at someone far away. Layle turned to look at him and smiled. Keiss frowned and run to his side. He kicked the other boy in the leg in a way that could be called harsh.

"Stop that stupid waving and let's carry on with the mission."

Layle made a sound of pain, nearly doubling over, but Keiss was unimpressed and just kept on trudging forward toward the people that had come there to meet them back. Unprepared for the sudden attack, Layle blinked for several times to clear away the haze. Then he got up and caught up to the other. He threw his hand around Keiss's shoulders and resumed back to waving, obviously never head of survival instinct. To his luck, Keiss was in a fairly good mood and didn't do anything to stop him.


	3. Dénouement

Aah, can't believe it's over! Of course I had this complete the very day I published the first chapter, but it still feels like I've managed to get rid of this impossibly quickly x) Now there's nothing for me to do with this anymore, not even grammar checking. (Even thought it would probably need some more of that... But I'm not good enough to do it ;D)

Now... I would love me some reviews :) Every single one of them counts, because small pairings like these don't usually get too many... How oddly phrased, as if the don't always count... Hmm...

* * *

Sometimes, Layle had to wonder if Keiss was there for his torture or his enjoyment. At times like these, it was really hard to tell. He tilted his head, trying to get a better look. Keiss ran his fingers through his wet hair, ruffling the red locks a little bit and letting the small droplets fall freely upon his shoulders and back. His white towel was hanging dangerously low on his hips as he stepped out of the bathroom and gracefully walked over to the wall-length window on the very other side of the room. His route happened to go straight in front of the blond Clavat, who was carelessly lying on the bed. Directly past his sight: probably just to irritate him, Layle thought.

His eyes followed the Selkie extremely strictly, especially interested in the small bead of water that slid down over the natural trench of his lower back, soon nearing the edge where the soft fabric of the towel and the silky-smooth skin appeared to meet. Keiss shifted, stretched and the towel lowered ever so slightly. Layle gulped, licked his dry lips, and got up. Keiss didn't seem to notice anything as Layle approached him from the behind, circling him a little like a lion would circle his prey. Keiss gasped when cold fingers lightly touched his back, and his body arched away involuntarily. His hands clutched to the curtains before him, ones that had slightly been pulled aside to open him a view of the outside world.

Then it apparently was the time for the airy touch to turn real. Layle knew that Keiss had previously jumped away from his touch simply because of reflex, but if he moved away this time too, it would be genuine. It would be because Keiss didn't want to be touched, and in that case, Layle would peacefully back down. But the reaction wasn't anything like the one he had been expecting. Keiss did arch his back again, just like he had done earlier, but even more suddenly and intensely. It looked like he was still working on reflexes, which was strange because his skin should have gotten used to the temperature of Layle's hands by now and his body definitely shouldn't have reacted that starkly.

The redhead's knuckles slowly began paling as he gripped the curtains tighter than before. But what caught Layle's attention was the gasp that Keiss now emitted. As a reaction to Layle's touch, Keiss closed his eyes, threw his head back a little and pulled in air so sharply, it created a whiny noise that actually made it sound like something between a gasp and a moan. Yes, he did arch his back, but Layle was so incredibly intrigued by the other effects his touch had on the Selkie, he simply couldn't go along with his earlier plan. Once over his primary reaction, Keiss's head dropped and he loosened his hold on the poor curtains. He knew he should particularly concentrate on breathing, if he ever wanted to stop reacting so strongly.

Layle noticed this too, how it suddenly became very easy to distinguish when Keiss was inhaling and when exhaling. At first he was a fair amount of confused about what was happening, but when Keiss let out another one of those gasp slash moan sounds, it hit him. The fact that he had just found out that he was arousing Keiss just by simply touching his back, should maybe have called forth some victorious amusement on his part, but he was too busy being turned on by that fact to care. If Keiss had been easy, he was easier: he had been caught just by thinking about how caught the other one was. Layle sighed and leaned his forehead down on the backside of Keiss's neck.

His hands were playing gently with the skin of Keiss's lower back, making circles and horizontal lines with the tips of his fingers. At times he followed the trench again, then sometimes the towel's edge, slipping his fingers just a tiny bit below the line. All this so he could get Keiss to make more of those heavenly sounds. He even saw the arching of his body and the clenching of his fists from a completely different angle now. Under the light of this new information, it looked undeniably sensual. He moved his head a little so it was now placed over the redhead's bare shoulder, which had been luring him for quite some time already. He kissed the soft skin there lightly, and then moved over a little, giving kisses all around the small area.

Keiss's head rolled to the side, giving Layle the perfect chance to further explore the intersection of his neck and right shoulder. Layle was not a person to turn down such opportunities, taking the bait, well, immediately. Though now he chose to not only kiss, but to suck and bite too where the other's neck seemed to especially call for it, which was basically everywhere. He begun very gently, but as the noises that Keiss made slowly started to sound less like gasps and more like full-blown moans, he got encouraged, got encouraged a lot. In the end, he was sure to leave marks the way he treated the otherwise pure skin so roughly, one could even say brutally, but as long as Keiss sounded like that, he couldn't care less.

When he bit down again, once, but way harder than any time before that, he was awarded with a moan that rivaled all the others up to that point in both its highness and its loudness. Unfortunately, at about the same time, the outdoor was knocked upon. It became very unclear, whether it was the bite or the knock that got Keiss to turn around abruptly, shove Layle off of him on the way and effectively end their moment. And additionally snap at him.

"Stop it, Layle! We're not those kinds of friends!"

He said it as if the blond hadn't already been forced to stop. Keiss also felt like hitting Layle on the chest as a punishment, but Layle barely noticed it happening, so surprised he was because of the sudden turn of events. Keiss rushed off to the wooden chest of drawers and pulled out some clothes, a t-shirt, boxers and trousers along with a belt, to pull on before he went to open the door. Layle stayed there, scratching the back of his head and generally looking very confused. He then decided to make his way back to the bed, quickly taking a glance at who was at the door while he went. He frowned. It was the beautiful daughter of the man who owned the inn they were currently staying in.

Already before it had seemed like the girl had taken a special liking to Keiss, but Layle had tried to ignore it the best he could. He succeeded only by considering how the mission would be over soon and they would probably not see each other for a long time after Keiss left the town. Well, by now the mission was essentially over. However, that still didn't mean he had grown to like her very much. Why was it that anywhere he looked, it seemed like girls were all over the redheaded Selkie? No one else he knew was getting anywhere near that much attention everywhere they went.

It didn't occur to him that it mainly looked like that because he was stalking this Selkie in particular, unlike he did anyone else. He even failed to notice the girls that were surrounding Layle himself, and that was already something. He crossed his arms and spent the time he had to wait for the other by sulking. Keiss raised an eyebrow at his expression once he came back, but didn't comment on it. He simply sat down beside him and took a leaflet from the bedside table, pretending he was interested in the town's history and its sights. They were quiet for a long while.

"Do you like her?"

In the silence that resumed after the question, Keiss hurried to turn several pages so it would look more like he was reading. This was also done more loudly than what was necessary, but neither of the two actually noticed. For a second it looked like Keiss wasn't even going to answer Layle's question, though in truth he had just been carefully thinking about what he was going to say. Eventually, when he did answer, Layle kind of hoped he hadn't.

"Well, yeah, I do. What's there not to like? She looks exotic in the most beautiful kind of way, she's got a great, feminine body, she's always polite and kind to others, and, she's even got herself a real feisty personality, which I reckon is never anything but a plus. She's just my type of person", more pages turning, "Makes me really sad I have to leave this place…"

Then, nothing followed. Keiss seemed to have even found a page that he sincerely cared to read. Layle didn't speak for a while, didn't move, didn't do anything except think. Eventually he rolled around to lie on his side, turning his back on his partner.

"Then stay."

He muttered quietly, but very accusatively. Keiss shifted his gaze upon him. He kept a pause, opened his mouth to say something, but quickly changed his mind and closed it. He put the leaflet back on the table and hefted himself closer to the blond. He leaned over Layle to discover that he had closed his eyes, obviously trying to imply that he was trying to sleep, and he also happened to wear a rather hurtful look upon his face. Keiss raised his eyebrows in surprise and wasted no time in being discreet.

"Are you actually upset because of what I said?"

At first, Layle thought he would not answer and simply pretend to be asleep, but then the whole thing started to annoy him in a level that he just couldn't ignore. He got up into a sitting position and turned around toward the other male, who in turn backed up a little bit so they wouldn't end up being ridiculously close to each other. Once face to face, he expressed his opinion clearly and a little bit angrily too.

"Of course I'm upset. You just declared that "your type of person" is someone who's the exact opposite of me. Given that you most certainly know how I feel about you, how can you even ask me, if I'm upset because of that or not? It's pretty damn obvious that I'd be upset."

And just like that, Keiss felt absolutely guilty. Layle made a point in looking the other way so Keiss wouldn't see his face. He knew that Keiss already knew that what he had just described to be his ideal companion was the completely opposite of Layle. He had not just realized it: he had planned it like that. All he needed to do was highlight the parts that didn't match Layle and leave out the things that did. The girl probably even wasn't that "feisty" to begin with. He didn't mention it to Keiss that he knew, but he guessed that the Selkie had figured that out on his own, thus the guilty look. Keiss was looking down at his feet, which he had pulled up on the bed and crossed under himself.

"I didn't think you liked me that much", and as Layle shot him a scandalized look, he hurried to explain, "I mean, you never seemed sad after I turned you down! … I kind of thought I was just a hot body to you… You never really tried to fight for me either… You just kind of… drooled after me."

Only after he had finished, he dared to glance up at Layle again. The blond's gaze wandered somewhere off into the corner of the room, his head moving with it, before it returned toward the Selkie. His eyebrows rose high in wonder, like something had just occurred to him. He got up and walked off a couple of steps. He kept considering what Keiss had said until he came to the conclusion that he should rub his forehead in fear of an oncoming headache. Keiss just sat there innocently and watched him. Layle stared back at him: looked away, and then returned. Then he suddenly laughed.

"Never thought you'd be the insecure one in this relationship. You're such a girl, Keiss."

Things like that weren't really the smartest things to say to Keiss, because lately, ever since Layle had told him that he liked him, he had been known getting a tad violent after getting comments that hurt his manly pride. Well okay, getting violent toward Layle, to everyone else he was still pretty nice. He didn't disappoint this time either, but threw the table-lamp at Layle, who of course easily captured it by using his gravity-manipulating powers. Keiss was unlucky that outbursts like this rarely helped a man's situation when being called a girl. Layle calmly placed the lamp under his arm and began explaining himself.

"Look… I didn't show you any sadness, because I didn't think you wanted to see it. I didn't think you'd enjoy it. And it honestly never crossed my mind that showing sadness to you would make me look any better in your eyes", he thought about it for a second, "Although, I guess that's pretty understandable. You thought that I didn't care and I thought it was obvious that I did care."

While talking, he circled the bed, put the lamp back into its previous place and sat down on the edge of the bed so his feet were touching the ground. He sat next to Keiss, but at a comfortable distance. He looked over his shoulder at Keiss and Keiss looked back at him. The Selkie didn't fail to notice how grave and thoughtful the Clavat's eyes were.

"Then… what did you say? Don't fight for you? What did I say the first time I told you I liked you?"

Layle asked. Keiss simply shook his head, shrugging at the same time. Their eye-contact wasn't broken for even a mere second. It was almost like they were stuck that way, staring at each other.

"I thought you were joking. I've never seen you flirt with anyone seriously."

Sure, every now and then he joked about it, but that just reinforced Keiss's picture that Layle perhaps just didn't want to be romantically committed to anyone. He was actually almost right, but there was one exception to this rule. Layle was surprised the Selkie hadn't realized something so obvious, which is why his words came out as rather matter-of-factly.

"That's because for as long as I've known you, I've seriously only wanted you", Keiss flushed red and Layle smiled, "Aww, you truly are insecure. Which is silly because that should be my part. After all, I'm the one who's getting hit all the time and told that I'm not liked. Okay. I'll say it clearly now: I really like you, as more than a friend. And not just because you have a smoking hot body, which you do. But you can't blame me on that one."

After managing to get that all said, Layle suddenly decided it was the time to turn his head away. Keiss could now only see the side of his face and this upset him a little. He slid closer to the blond and used his own hand to move Layle's head back into the right direction, which was toward Keiss. He still needed a little more insurance that it all was actually true. It all sounded a bit too easy to him.

"… You really like me?"

Layle snorted. Keiss furrowed his brows slightly at that.

"I don't think that was ever the question. What I'd like to know, is how you feel. Honestly now: do you, or do you not, like me? Do I have a shot or not?"

There wasn't much that Keiss could say to that. No, scratch that, there was a lot of things that he could have started talking about right there and then, but for some reason, he felt like absolutely everything wanted to lock inside of him and consequently, he couldn't utter a word. When he realized that this wasn't going to change anytime soon, he started to sense a fear creeping up on him: How was Layle going to react if he didn't response? This thought just involuntarily helped to lay more bricks on the wall that had shut away his ability to talk. Layle's gaze was still keenly upon him, like he himself had previously made it to be and he was regretting that move now. Then, unexpectedly, a smile broke upon Layle's lips.

"It's okay, you don't have to answer right now. Although tell me one thing, this should be easier. If I had fought for you more obviously before, it would have helped you make up your mind, right?" cautiously, even a bit unsurely, Keiss nodded, "Is it too late now? To fight?"

Keiss's jaw dropped and he tried to perform words, but to no avail. He could have sworn he saw a light lit in Layle's eyes, insinuating something akin to passion, and he was suddenly very distracted. Despite this, the question hung high inside his consciousness, inwardly kicking him every time he was on the verge of drowning into those eyes. He let out an artificial sigh that was too fast and didn't calm him one bit, and took note of how wide his eyes felt before shaking his head.

"Umm, no, I don't…"

That was as far as he got, because then his mouth became occupied by other things. Like Layle kissing him, for an example. He weighted the option of pushing him off for a second, but then decided that he would go along with it just for a little while to see what Layle exactly had in mind. And this most certainly was not an excuse to hide the fact that he actually liked the feel of the Clavat's lips upon his. Nevertheless, he responded to the kiss. After that for a countless amount of times, they parted and quickly reconnected, probing and tasting each other from different angles and different directions, but mostly just wanting to aimlessly kiss their partner once more.

It was sweet and innocent, though Keiss could feel an edge of urgency in Layle's movements, a want to do something more. The knowledge made his heart beat faster in anticipation, more than what was necessary. To his initial surprise, Layle didn't take the kiss further: he did the opposite and ended it. It wasn't an abrupt end, he just slightly pulled away, perhaps only two centimeters at most, and remained hovering there. Keiss opened his eyes and slowly moved away so he could see Layle's face better. It didn't take long before the blond started speaking.

"You know, I admit it. If you had looked like Vaigali instead of your incredibly beautiful self, I probably wouldn't have allowed myself to develop a thing for you. I would have become partners with you, share all these moments with you and love you, but with no romantic feelings toward you whatsoever. I admit it, I adore your beauty."

Keiss looked away, embarrassed, but Layle continued staring at him until his eyes had returned. There was some sadness in them, some worry and quite a lot of annoyance, all of which was quite understandable. Layle guessed he was worried that one day he was going to lose his "beauty". That must have been the bottom source of all his insecurity.

"But it's a part of you, isn't it? I'm supposed to adore it just as much as I adore your personality. So don't go transforming into Vaigali any time soon, because I don't know if I can stop these romantic feelings anymore. And then it'd turn just a little bit strange…"

He passed closer to the Selkie and brought his hand to the boy's back to support him: Keiss readily submitted to being laid down on the bed. Without much thinking about it, he lifted his hands up over his head to surrender even further, while Layle got on top of him on his knees. For a moment, they couldn't help but just look at each other in adoration. Then Layle leaned down and kissed the boy under him, innocently on the lips. Keiss closed his eyes and sighed contently. He was kissed again, and this time, he felt something unfamiliar brush past his lips.

He immediately knew what it was and he couldn't have denied that he wouldn't have given it a friendly invitation to his mouth if he had been asked. He was asked, soon enough, and true to his words, he let Layle's tongue invade the cavern that was his mouth. The wet, foreign tongue massaged his own and pressed against the insides of his cheeks. It slowly made a circle of sorts, systematically reaching every corner that it could find. Layle was kind enough to let Keiss return the favor, now allowing him into his own mouth instead. Layle's hang glided over Keiss's torso, looking for the edge of his shirt.

When he found it, he couldn't help slipping his hands under the shirt in question. The fabric easily lifted up as his hands stroked Keiss's stomach, and Keiss was beginning to feel rather hot. He felt a pleasant kick in his lower body that was no doubt internal. His mouth left the blond's in favor of being able to gasp. A thread of saliva was left to hang between them, but Layle easily fixed that by licking it all off of Keiss's lips, his own only afterwards. He admired the body under him with half-lidded eyes, hand still rubbing and feeling and teasing the Selkie's already bothered body.

"Beautiful, beautiful… How can someone make me feel like this? Nobody's perfect, I know that, but to me you're the closest thing there is. You can have as many faults as you like, they'll all just drown into you."

Layle's voice was hoarse, quiet and marveling. He leaned in to lay butterfly-kisses on the other boy's neck. Out of breath, Keiss laughed a little. His body twisted into a tiny arch once and again, which most likely had something to do with the way Layle's hand had just crossed over an especially sensitive area. After his back agreed to relax again, he replied, still breathless.

"You've rehearsed this stuff, haven't you?"

The comment was rewarded with a smile. Keiss could hear it from Layle's voice, even though he didn't actually see anything from behind his tight-shut eyes.

"Well I've been thinking about you a lot."

They kissed again. Layle slid his hand from Keiss's stomach to his thigh, which he gripped strongly. This was done absently, as he tried to focus as much as he could in what his mouth was currently doing. Keiss lifted up his hands and reached them over Layle's neck. While his right hand stayed there, his left hand kept on moving until it had gotten tangled in Layle's hair. Throughout their whole make-out session, they had succeeded at being quite calm. No doubt passionate, but also taking their time to enjoy each other. Now they seemed to be falling into that especially relaxing part, filled with simple kisses and innocent caresses.

Keiss didn't actually mind this back and forth movement between sweet and fiery. At the same time, he could feel beloved and desired. Keiss felt a weird, hot feeling in the bottom of his stomach, as he wondered if the two got mixed up completely once they would get past the warm-ups and sink further into the main act. He probably turned tomato right there at that point, but then again, he doubted Layle would take him that far while it was still unclear how Keiss felt. No, scratch that: he would definitely not take it that far. Layle chuckled against his lips and Keiss had the decency to look confused.

"I can't be sure, but I imagine you're blushing. You always frown like a little child when you're embarrassed. I think it's quite cute. Look, I've got to tell you something."

It sounded like Keiss muttered something with a bit of an angry tone to it about not being a child, which got Layle's smile to widen. He dipped his head down and quickly pecked the moody redhead's lips. This caused the corner of Keiss's lips to twitch upward. It was a fleeting thing and Keiss still tried to pretend like he was pissed off afterwards, but Layle knew the truth. He pretended that he didn't though, if only to be able to peck Keiss again. He hadn't managed to lose his smile when he finally got back to what he had been saying, possibly distracted by a couple of more kisses before beginning.

"I know you probably wanted me to be depressed or something when you turned me down, but the truth is, I was merely just sad. You're my best friend and my partner. I get to be with you, chat with you, laugh with you and risk my life with you every single day of my life. Most of my every day, I get to be with the one that I like. Sad? Yes. There are a few more things that I want. But I already have so much."

He smiled in a way that Keiss deemed ridiculous, but it made him smile in return anyway. Happiness had always been somewhat contagious between them. Layle slowly leaned down for the umpteenth time that evening to give the other male a kiss on the lips. At the same time he spoke.

"I can't even imagine begin to comprehend how lucky I am to be in love with my best friend."

Then when he had almost succeeded to make a connection with Keiss, he was suddenly pushed away by the work of two hands on his chest. He was surprised to find a relatively shocked expression upon Keiss's face. Layle thought about it for a hasty second, thought about what he had said and done and if there had been any factors beyond them that could have upset the Selkie, but none came to mind. He was speechless, but luckily he didn't need to start guessing: Keiss was kind enough to voice the problem.

"Were you serious?" at this moment, Layle was still speechless, "Are you… in love… with me?"

Realization dawned upon Layle as he let out a dragged oh-sound. You could have heard a feather fall, as he briefly wondered what the desired response to that was. It was really hard to tell, as the boy under him was almost deadpanning now. Only his eyes were still pretty wide. Layle supposed he should just tell the truth.

"I am."

Apparently that had been the right answer, because the next second Keiss had pulled his body up and had locked his lips with Layle's rather fiercely. Not just that, when they parted the Selkie easily stripped out of his t-shirt, only to press himself flush against the blond the next second and start a new kiss. Layle sort of wanted to ask where this was coming from now, but then again, he was not complaining. Especially not when he felt Keiss's tongue against his lips and was soon caught in a tight battle of dominance with him. Or when he sensed that someone specific had just snaked his hands under his shirt. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like the other was actually pushing his shirt upwards.

They cut their battle for the time being and cooperated to get Layle out of his shirt. All this time, Keiss had somewhat attacked Layle. So when Layle had instinctively allowed it, he had moved backwards and Keiss forwards: now the redhead was already sitting up. This gave him the perfect stand to his next advance, which was to climb into Layle's lap. While on it he made, half accidentally and half not, a rocking motion with his hips against Layle's, effectively making them both gasp for air. This entire assault from Keiss's side had had a tad rushed tone to it. Thus, Layle found it cute how it seemed like Keiss could only calm down now that he had managed to top Layle. The fiery redhead cupped his cheek and began kissing him.

That kiss, or more like a combination of kisses, reminded their very first kiss that evening. It was savoring and relaxed, but it differed whereas their first kiss had been fairly innocent, this time they were completely, passionately glued to each other. This time it was hard to breathe through the kisses. When the need for air became too great, they had to stop, but they still chose to remain rather close to each other. They were both breathing heavily, and Layle didn't fail to notice how flushed Keiss was. He dared to guess he himself wasn't much different. The blond noticed that Keiss was going speak even before he hadn't, just because they were so near.

"Why do you think I'm insecure?"

Layle shook his head ever so slightly, to indicate that he honestly didn't know, and brushed some hair away from Keiss's forehead. The hair was almost dry now, he realized and started wondering if it had happened quicker or slower than normally. He couldn't remember. Keiss slumped down and pressed his forehead against Layle's bare shoulder. Layle moved his left hand to join his right one on the Selkie's hips. The Selkie in question answered his own question with a soft mumble.

"Because I adore you… I love you. I'm in love with you. When you told me that you just "liked" me, of course I became upset. I… I got scared. Thought my heart was in for a break", Keiss shifted so his eyes were covered, "I know that I should have just been happy that you liked me, but… it's really quite scary to love someone more than they love you."

There was a strange clicking noise that Layle couldn't place. Only when Keiss backed off from his lap and laid himself on the bed in front of him, he realized that the other's belt was open, unlike before. Keiss slid his hands over his head and slowly spread his legs open. He was still a little bit breathless, so his lips were parted and the delicate blush that was coloring his cheeks had yet to dissolve. His half-lidded eyes pointed directly at Layle, who was suddenly so dumbstruck he couldn't move.

"Well… didn't you say you became partners with me to be able to lay me?" in his fuzzy mind state, Layle could only produce some kind of a resemblance to a nod, "Then won't you do it already?"

Layle did not need to be asked again.


End file.
